Got a Grip?

[olkofri]

Man, I've seen some weird pipe shapes, but this...
Wojtek Pastuch Groot Sitter
First time I see a pipe with a gun grip. 8O

 

[seacaptain]

At 115mm, it should be Baby Groot.

 

[addamsruspipe]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I don't think I will ever be holden a pipe like that. :D

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Guardian of the Gawiths!

 

[skydog]

I am Root Briar.

 

[Chasing Embers]

First time I see a pipe with a gun grip.

Somewhat common with newer freehand carvers.

 

[cigrmaster]

I just don't understand the need to make a pipe not look like a pipe. It seems there is a whole new wave of pipe makers determined to make pipes look like something other than a pipe. I have a really strong feeling that in 5 years all of these people will be gone from the market. It is hard enough to make pipes for a living, but when you try and cater to a group infinitesimally small in relation to most pipe smokers, I don't see a future for them. I see those crazy pipes on ebay from pipesartstore and they sit year after year unsold. Can't make rent on unsold pipes.
Look how long that Steam Punk craze lasted, not very. When was the last time you saw Nate King make one?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

There have been abstract pipes made for the pleasure of it since the first clay ship shaped pipe was made. Not everyone is business and/or practically minded. Steampunk is still alive and well at cons, and it’s ok not to understand everything that happens in the known universe. It’s also ok to appreciate these anomalies. It’s also ok to be repulsed. The world keeps on turning.

I personally really like these pipes. I can’t afford them, but I love to look and be awed or entertained or repulsed.

Haven’t you ever been to a pipe show? There are lots of people who make art pipes, and even more that appreciate them. And, almost every pipemaker kicks out at least one show piece, although they range from classically unique to bazzare. Variety and serendipity is the spice of life.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I just don't understand the need to make a pipe not look like a pipe.

Everyone makes the classics, the abstracts and freehands set them apart. Talbert's pieces sell almost as soon as posted, and some are over $2000.

 

[luigi]

I bet it's more or less a marketing move. Or maybe the maker was experimenting in this case, knowing he will sell it easily.

Vauen has some interesting "modern" shapes too.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Well the pipe in the OP is already sold, so there is apparently a market for them.

 

[ukbob]

I love pipes shapes like that seen quite a few, but unfortunately can't afford them. No harm in looking and dreaming though.

 

[cortezattic]

I don't think Harris is against artistic renditions. After all, he owns a stunning Talbert Goblin too!

I'll let him speak to that himself; but the allure of excessively flamboyant pipes is bewildering, as their purpose seems to get lost in their form.

 

[mikethompson]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

[smittyd]

That's just weird :laughat:

 

[cosmicfolklore]

It's absolutely perfectly normal not to like something. Believe me, there are pipes that I just don't care for, and some even crack me up. In fact, I'd add the question, can it even be good art if it doesn't illicit some emotional reaction (even a negative one)? Mostly, I was speaking to the business side of this. Not everyone who makes art, is motivated by money. I have friends who work in corporate jobs that make art and do art shows occasionally as a means of just expression. At the last show I was in, I was next a guy who did these tediously carved little boxes with a huge price tag on them. They drew a lot of attention, but he didn't sell any of them (he only had like ten of them to start with). As we were packing up, I asked him how it went, and he was very happy. He loaded his small displays into the back of a brand new Lexus, and we talked and it turned out that he worked for some company doing investments all day, and this was just his catharsis. He was very pleased that people were so enamoured with his work and he made a lot of new friends. Plus, he didn't have the paperwork and taxes to pay before leaving the show like I did, ha ha.

 

[shanegreen]

I think a handle would be a nice touch. I like the posted pipe. It is all a matter of taste. The "artistic" pipes I can say that don't appeal to me, however, may appeal to some, is those meerschuam pipes with various renditions of 70's erotica.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

There's a reason there's so many brands of tobacco and so many shapes of pipes. People's tastes vary. Harris and I share tastes in tobacco fairly close we vary a bit in what pipes we like. The fact that his pipe tastes aren't as refined as mine is okay. LOL I don't care for the majority of the exotically carved pipe shapes but I respect the skill set required to make them.

 

[retrogasm]

In fact, I'd add the question, can it even be good art if it doesn't illicit some emotional reaction (even a negative one)?

Maybe this is where the disconnect is for most (some?) of us. Pipes are tools with a purpose, and the 'over-designing' of some pipes gets in the way of their primary function. Basically, you've made scissors that are worse at cutting, or a less effective hammer. I guess you could call me an artist if I made a lightbulb that wont turn on, but once I make a lawnmower that wont cut grass the artistic commentary is getting a bit one dimensional and repetitive.
I have a healthy respect for the work that some of the pipemakers put out, but I wouldn't call them artists. Even less so when you hold them up to the craftsmen that made old world furniture, or watches.